Aldridge overjoyed Panthers are headed to state final

BEULAVILLE – When Brian Aldridge arrived at East Duplin in 1985, he took over a program that had just two winning seasons in its 23-year history.

And in that span it had averaged less than three wins a season – and had never been to the playoffs.

Aldridge changed all that.

What he was never able to do was advance past the East Regional. Despite leading the Panthers to eight wins or more in 15 of 22 seasons over two stints in Beulaville, Aldridge was never able to lead East Duplin to the state finals.

“It wore on me,” said Aldridge, who turns 62 on Jan. 16, “and it wore on me because I always felt I was letting the community down.”

And that’s one of many reasons – but certainly a big one – why Aldridge, who arguably could be called the “Father of East Duplin Football,” is so overjoyed the Panthers are headed to Chapel Hill on Saturday for the first trip to the state finals since the school opened in 1962.

“It’s just a joy to me just that we finally knocked that door down,” said Aldridge, who is in his third year as an assistant under head coach Battle Holley. “I was here (and) we lost two Eastern championships and then last year with Battle we lost another one.

“But I can remember three or four other years where we lost the third-round game and if we win…, we’re going to win the next game and we’re going to go. This has been, to me, about seven or eight times we just had that bad feeling. So it’s a good feeling.”

The top-seeded Panthers (15-0) beat North Davidson 38-28 on Friday to advance to the NCHSAA 2-AA final against No. 2 Hibriten (15-0), which is also in the state final for the first time after beating four-time state champion Shelby 19-7.

After the Panthers won Friday night, Aldridge didn’t rush down from the press box for the postgame celebration.

“I didn’t go down on the field for a while,” he said as he sat in the weight room before practice Monday. “I stayed up in the press box, just enjoyed watching. It’s been a joy.”

It was a joy that eased the disappointment of years gone by – years that would have weighed on him had the Panthers not won.

“It probably would have hurt me worse than anybody,” he said. “I was so glad when we got it. I was so glad we won for our community, and I was glad for Battle because he works so hard.”

Credit Holley and his staff for leading the Panthers to an historic season. And credit Aldridge for laying the foundation. When he arrived in 1985, Aldridge inherited a program that had won just 60 games in 23 seasons – 6-3-1 was the Panthers’ best record to date, which they managed in 1973 and 1981.

East Duplin was 8-21 in the three seasons before Aldridge’s arrival.

“It was not a very good job. My wife graduated from here. We were living in Raleigh. She didn’t want me to take the job because she knew the history,” Aldridge recalled.

But he decided to take the job, which entailed more than just correcting things on the field. The facilities needed to be upgraded, which Aldridge said longtime athletic director Jerry Hunter had “a lot to do with” improving.

“We had to get the community involved. We had to get the kids to buy into it. We had to care about the kids,” he said.

After East Duplin went 2-8 that first season – Aldridge’s only losing season as a head coach, the Panthers went 8-3 in 1986 and earned a trip to the playoffs, falling 24-8 to South Brunswick in the opening round.

A year later the Panthers went 11-2, falling in the third round of the playoffs 32-0 to Whiteville, where Aldridge wound up two years later after 9-2 and 5-5 seasons at East Duplin.

“We kind of went down one year and I felt like everything was falling away,” Aldridge said. "I tell people I thought my job was like a table. I knew it was going to drop off. That’s why I left. “

But after four years at Whiteville – where he went 38-11 while East Duplin was 18-23 – Aldridge returned to Beulaville “for family” in 1994.

The transition back, he said, was “easier because I knew the custodians. I knew the secretary. I knew the ins and outs.”

“But I also knew we had to take the program to another level. I knew we had to really work on the facilities,” he said. “We got the field house when I came back. They laid the foundation the last day of school my first year here in 1986 and when I left in ‘90 it still wasn’t finished. So when I came back they were kind of halfway in it. So they finished it. “

About a decade later they expanded the weight room into a new building.

“Had a lot of help, a lot of community people. Jerry Hunter was big in what’s been done out here,” Aldridge said. “Talking to his son and wife Friday night, we wished he was here to see it.”

During his tenure as East Duplin’s head coach, Aldridge had his share of strong teams. In 1997, the Panthers lost 33-0 to Clinton in the regional final after beating the Dark Horses 13-10 in the regular season.

It was East Duplin’s only loss in 15 games.

Then in 2001 the Panthers again lost to Clinton in the regional final, this time 45-7.

Clinton went on to win the state title both years.

Then there was 2004 when Southwest rallied for a 28-24 win in the third round of the playoffs. The Stallions went on to whip East Carteret 34-6 and Shelby 49-21 to win the state 2-A title.

“That year really wears on me,” Aldridge said.

Aldridge is feeling a lot better these days.

“We finally caught a break, finally got a little luck and broke through,” he said. “We’ve had some other good teams but I’d say – and I think I can be the one to say it – this is the best team we’ve ever had. My ’97 boys and my ’87 boys might be a little disappointed, but these guys did it.”

Rick Scoppe can be reached at 910-219-8471 or via email at rick.scoppe@jdnews.com

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